Tales of the Abyss: The Price of Life
by FearTheFluff
Summary: Chapter 6: They weren't your average royal family. They were warriors, they were called heroes. They would not ask soldiers to go rescue Yulia, they would go by themselves. A weird royal family for sure they were.
1. Chapter 1

**Tales of the Abyss: The Price of Life**

**Chapter One: Luke and Tear Fon Fabre**

Mystearica Fon Fabre, that was the name she was given after marrying the man she loved. Dutches Fabre was the title given to her when Luke's parents decided to give their son the place he was supposed to occupy. It didn't matter for them that he was a replica, he was the child they brought up to became a man. As for herself she had learned to love Luke more than she ever imagined she could love someone. Tear was, after all, a trained soldier, thought not to show her feelings. The hardest thing to overcome was her love for cute things and probably the cuteness in Luke was what made her fall for him.

Everyday she woke up and found herself trapped in Luke's possessive hug she felt as happy as she could. Every time he kissed her was like that first time, years ago, when he came back from the dead. In that moment, Tear's facade had vanished and she lost herself to the joy in her and couldn't keep herself from running and hugging Luke. She cried with all her heart until Luke caught her chin between his fingers "The Tear I'm love with is not a crybaby" and then she received her first kiss.

Luke had been patient in their relationship. He would never kiss her against her will, nor made her feel uncomfortable. He knew she was not the kind of girl to be affectionate towards other in public. But when they were alone, Mystearica showed Luke how much she really loved him. The first time they spent a night together, when for the first time they were one, giving their innocence to each other.

With time, however Tear became more a girl and less a soldier and they could go walking holding hands or cuddle a bit when with family or friends. Luke always made sure she felt as part of his family, since she had none of her own after all. The Fon Fabre soon came to love the sad eyed girl and the people from Baticul got used to her presence and gentle singing on dark afternoons.

It was those changes in her attitude that gave Luke the courage to say the phrase he had long wished to say "Tear, would you marry me?" She said nothing but rather kissed him, in front of everybody as she always tried not to. The joy in her could not be explained with words, being 20 years old she was more than ready to marry Luke, who she loved so much. The wedding had been simple and the Luke's best man was obviously Guy, Anise and Natalia maids of honor. A simple yet beautiful celebration to which Jade the Necromancer could not attend due to military business. Tear looked, as later described by Anise when describing the events to Jade "as the most beautiful bride that has ever put foot on Auldrant". Her description was later on recycled when Natalia and Guy married about a year after, becoming the King and Queen of Kimlasca.

It had been a year since they married when Tear found out the most wonderful thing: she was pregnant. She had always wished for a family and now she could give one to someone, to her baby. She had thought how to tell it to Luke in the most appropriate way and ended up asking her friends about it, trying to be hypothetical but giving aways herself really easy. "YOU ARE PREGNANT!!!" Natalia had exclaimed, as she almost fell to the ground to be caught by a smiling Guy.

She had later on thought that the most accuratete person to ask would be Jade, he was the eldest of the group and by far the wisest. She sent him a letter that took too long to receive answer. Tear guessed Jade had been too busy or the letter had never arrived. She had to tell Luke anyways, before her symptoms became evident. So, one day, with all her strengh and bravery, Tear told Luke.

"Luke... Can I tell you something?" she had said.

"Of course Tear, you can tell me anything you know that my dear wife" he answered. Ever since the got married Luke never let go the chance to make a reference to it. Often he called her "my dear wife", "the one I married" or even "To whom I gave my last name to".

"It's been long since we met..."

"Yes... I was still a complete idiot back then." Luke looked away, still embarrassed at his former self.

"I didn't like you at all at first, but I fell for a bit every time you did something kind for me or for anyone and... Before I realized I was in love with you" She caught Luke's cheek and kissed him gently on the lips.

"You have also changed, Tear" he whispered into her ear, making her blush.

"I can't believe you still have that effect in me. Many times you would make me blush and I would just hide my face"

"Tear, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Luke asked, fixing his green eyes in Tear's blue ones.

"I-I... Luke I'm...pregnant..." she said. Luke was unable to hear.

"What did you say?"

"I said I'm... P-Pregnant" time froze for 2.34 seconds Luke Fon Fabre did not make a movement.

"YOU-YOU ARE... YOU REALLY ARE... WE ARE GOING TO..." he opened his ayes as much as he could, not able to handle te excitement in him.

"Yes Luke, we are going to have a baby..." Luke hugged her tight and Tear felt how he cried over her shoulder.

"I'm sooo happy Tear... I can't believe I'm going to be a dad" and so they hugged under the moon, thinking nothing could possibly go wrong and however, being completely wrong.

Soon the Necromancer would appear with news not so good for Tear.

* * *

SOOOOI'm in vacations and have absolutely nothing to do so I thought I'd write a ficabout the BEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the best game couple EVER!!!!!!!!!! Well I really love Tear x Luke and Natalia x Guy, however I may slip and write Tear x Natalia some time soon. Well I beg for your REVIEWS because I want to know wether I should or shouldn't continue this peace.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tales of the Abyss: The Price of Life**

**Chapter 2: Chances and Facts**

_There is always the slight chance that a mistake has been made... Is it?_

"It can't be..." for about the tenth time in the last two hours the Necromance began his formula. "It just can't be... Unless" he shook his head, "It can't be..." However, it didn't matter how many times he tried to get a positive result, he always got the same: IMPOSSIBLE. There was no chance for that to happen. His mind gave birth to thoughts he wanted to keep away and once again he shook his head. "Tear would never..."

............

Tear's pregnancy was going on perfectly fine. As for Luke, the proud and protective future father and actual husband, Tear's health was more than a priority. He would act so nice and so caring it would seem impossible for him to be the same stubborn and immature teenager Tear had met for the first time. Luke himself would get Tear's breakfast to the bed and would always make shure she was always confortable.

The Oracle Knight (taking a break from her duties due to evident reasons) took the attention, at first as something cute. However, as her belly grow, so did Luke's concern for her physical state. Soon he wouldn't allow her to climb up or down stairs, which would be really annoying when visiting Guy and Natalia. He would carry her all the way up or down, which made Tear feel embarassed and as a burden. In spite of that Mystearica would not complain. She felt that all that concern was just a demostration of how much Luke loved her and their baby. Everytime her husband woul kneel in front of her and put his ear on her belly, she would softly touch his head and close her eyes. For Luke, Tear's future mother appearance was the most beautiful thing.

But the feeling of peace and happiness would soon be attacked by a discovery made by certain Necromancer, who, as fast as he could, had made his way to Baticul and was a few blocks away from the Fabre manor, trying to conceive a delicate way to state his point.

"Dutchess, you have a visit waiting for you at the hall" a servant anounced through the door. Tear raised herself from her seat and left the book she was reading in the table next to her. She walked slowly, her seven month pregnancy would not allow her to move a lot faster. Before she could open the door it opened itself, revealing Luke behind it. Since Mieu had returned to the Cheagle Woods for Tear Luke's puppy eyes were the cutest thign around, she smiled at the sight of them. "Sorry I took so long. You won't believe who it is. It's Jade!" he exclaimed happily.

Jade received them at the hall, with a somewhat strange gaze upon his eyes. It was not his usual cold and ironic expression wich he had brougth to them today. However, he did well in hiding it and the young couple paid no attention to what appeared as a minor detail. The Necromancer was touched by the scene in front of his eyes. Luke lead a pregnant Tear into the room slowly and smiling.

"Jade!" exclaimed Luke shaking hands with his friend.

"Luke, glad to see you haven't lost your touch" answered Jade, with his typical expression taking over his face.

"Colonel, long time no seen" said Tear. Jade's eyes looked at Tear directly. Something was wrong, it was evident in that same moment.

"Tear, you've grown" he joked.

An unconfortable silence invaded the atmosphere for a few seconds while Tear tried to guess what could possibly be wrong.

"Master Fabre, you are requested at the castle" a servant called.

"What could Guy want?" Luke looked disappointed "I'll be right back..." He began walking towards the door and suddenly turned to face Tear and Jade "Take care of her while I'm away" Jade nodded. Soon after Luke left, Jade's expression changed.

"Tear, it's time to tell you the real reason why I came to visit you" Tear looked ashtonished and the Necromancer felt the need to explain himself "I told Guy to call for Luke, I didn't wanted him to listen to this."

"Wha-What's wrong, Jade?"

"Not here, let's go somewhere private"

..........................

"Tear, how long have you been pregnant" he asked, as soon as they arrived to the study.

"Seven months" she answered, a little bit frightened.

"I did received your letter. The reason why I didn't answea was because there was something that didn't fit into what you said" The atmosphere seemed to turn colder and every word Jade mentioned incresead the levels of tension among the two indivudals.

"What do you mean?" Tear sounded scared, when Jade was serious he was scary, his red eyes were fixed in her face and his lips barely separated to talk.

"Luke, as you know, is a replica and replicas... Replicas can not reproduce"

"..." Tear froze, what was Jade trying to say..?

"The baby you are going to have, in theory, can not be Luke's"

"But Jade I haven't... Luke's the only one I have... I would never..." She stood up, trying to defend herself.

"I said in theory Tear, calm down. I don't want Luke to get mad at me. Remember the time Luke spent with Lorelai... or perhaps Asch's energy... I don't know. I've spent nights trying to figure this out but I haven't been able to..." Tear sat down once more and relaxed. No one would think she would cheat on Luke, rigth?

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, transforming back to her cold self, and looking directly into Jade's eyes.

"For now there is nothing to be done, but I thought you had the right to know about it. Do not tell anyone about this, not even Natalia and Guy and especially not to Luke. We don't want such news to spread, you know how people can be" Teaer felt unconfortable, to think someone could picture her as a woman of that sort.

"Understood..." she whispered lowering her gaze to the floor.

"I shall be leaving now Tear" Jade stood up and began walking towards the door, leaving Tear in her own sadness "Let me know if anything bad happens or when the baby is born, whatever happens first..." He opened the door and his expression changed to one no one had ever seen in his face, guilt mixed with sadness.

"Tear... I'm sorry" he whispered as he closed the door and listened how the Seventh Fonist began to cry, burrying her face in her hands as salty water emanated from her pale blue eyes, the young pregnant girl felt the baby kick and was not able to smile.

So I was inspirated and suddenly found myself at the end of the second episode. Soon the chapters will become longer, this is like the epilogue to the new adventure... REVIEW PLEASE!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Meaning of Birth**

Natalia could not stop wondering why Tear's mood had changed so much. Even if she said it was a pregnant thing the Queen would not believe something so simple, she new the Seventh Fonist very well, they had shared enough time together and many times she felt she was the only one who could perceive something was wrong. Both Guy and Luke would buy the "pregnant thing" story. But she wouldn't. Tear was, as she decided to call her shortly after their quest ended, her best friend, they had saved each others lifes in a well share of times and she was afraid Tear was hiding something from her. Eight months of pregnancy sure had their effects but there was something besides that, and Natalia was going to find out.

"Tear please, I've been trying to guess what is wrong with you but I can't. I'm worried for you, I-I would never forgive myself if something wrong was really happening and I never c-could find out..." Natalia had visited Tear and, after an hour of pointless chit chat, she had decided to tell her the real reason behind her visit..

"How many times do I have to tell you Natalia, there's nothing wrong..." somehow not even Tear believed in her words.

"You are acting weird... Worried, concerned about something..."

"It's a..."

"Don't tell me that stupid excuse again" interrupted Natalia "I'm sick and tired of this..." she was out of character. she regained composure "Oh my, I'm sorry Tear I just..."

"Don't worry... It's just that..." she hesitated. She really was out of herself this days, she used to tell things directly at people's faces, sometimes unaware of the effect she may cause in them. Jade told her not to... Should her? Maybe telling Natalia would help her calm a down a little, before she caused harm to her baby or Luke began wondering the same thing as the Kimlsacan Queen.

"Tear, it's me, Natalia, you can trust me. If it's private I swear in the name of Lorelai and Yulia I would NEVER tell it to anyone, not even Guy..."

"Jade came by about a month ago with bad news..."

"I m Guy told me something about it, but I never managed to see him..."

"He just came to tell me about a... Discovery he made... I had sent him a letter, telling him about my pregnancy" Tear doubted for a moment before going on with the story. Was she doing the right thing telling her? She raised her gaze and looked at Natalia eyes. She was her best friend. Natalia grabbed Tear's hands and hold them between hers "He didn't answer me because he was trying to find out something. He-He discovered something, well, more than that he proved something he already knew... Replicas... Replicas can not reproduce. He said there was no chance the baby was Luke's..."

Tear expected Natalia's rejection. She expected her to act as Jade said people would react if she told them what was happening. But Natalia never let go off her hands, instead she hold them firmly, concern in her eyes.

"Tear have you been... have you been raped?" Tear felt a little bit happy, she had to admit. She was lucky to have Natalia as her friend.

"No... That's not it..."

"Tear tell me you didn't..." There it was, even her best friend, although if trying to keep them away from her mind, happened to conceived such thoughts.

"Natalia, you know that Luke's been my first and only. I would never betray him. He's the love of my life... Would you cheat on Guy?"

"No... Then what happened?" Natalia noticed how Tear's eyes became blurry and shiny.

"I-I don't know... Jade said he'd try to find out. Everyday that passes I wonder if something will go wrong" She tried to keep her tears for herself. She had only cried twice in front of someone else, when she knew of the miasma killing her and when Luke came back, and she didn't feel like expanding the list "I know it may sound a little out of myself but... I have always really wanted to have a family Natalia... What if I lose this baby? What if this is some kind of... I don't know... Curse? Side effect? S-S-Something..." she stopped talking. She could not hold it any longer. She squeezed Natalia's hands and began crying.

Mystearica Grants was crying. Five years ago it would have seemed even silly to think she would show suck weakness in front of another person. When they met, she would rarely let her feelings show. And there she was, the Oracle Knight, the Seventh Fonist, Yulia's descendant... Crying... Natalia stood up, never letting go her friend's hands and made her look at her using the word that never failed to catch her attention, her full name: "Mystearica, if you want to cry, cry. I consider you as my best friend, and I think you also think that way about me... Trust me..."

Tear let off Natalia's hands and hugged her waist, crying soundly. The Queen hugged her back, placing her her head over Tear's and began to cry as well, sharing her best friend's sadness.

.........................

When the ninth month of her pregnancy arrived Tear sent Jade a letter, simple and direct, as she was "Everything has gone just fine, it is expected to be born shortly, you may consider showing up as soon as possible". She did not knew what Jade would do in order to see if everything was all right with her baby. She was scared of the day she would give birth. Not only due to the fact of the action of giving birth which was frightening by itself but because she did not knew what the baby would look like. Would it be a human? Would her pregnancy be some kind of side effect for lowering the Outer Lands? A concentration of miasma? A monster? She had never wanted so much to be wrong.

Tear was sitting on a bench in the garden, Luke was at the palace managing some things with Guy and he would not allow her to go since the doctor told her not to move much, she was humming the Grand Fonic Hymn recalling the old days... When she was still living in YuliaCity, with her Grandfather and Van... It had been long such a long time since she visited her grandfather, she had sent letters to him and he had answered them, but the old man could not leave the city. Perhaps when the baby was born they could go visit him, unless... Tear shook her head, she wanted te keep herself away from such thoughts.

Se finished the song for the third time and felt a tear running down her cheek. She didn't knew why she was crying, she was not sad at all just... Worried and a little melancholic. When had she became such a crybaby? She used to be strong, a soldier, a block of ice.

She was in the middle of her thoughts when she felt something wet running between her legs. She cursed her luck and tried to stand up. She couldn't. Her strenght was vanishing slowly. She tried to call for someone, because she felt uncapable of moving, but felt so weak she could not talk, finally all her strenght was gone and she fell, while trying to stand up, and fainted.

...........................

"Guy really likes to call me for stupid things..." Luke thought, walking towards his Manor "He could chose a gift for Natalia himself!"

"MASTER LUKE!!!!" called one of the servants, named John, running towards him. Luke felt worried at the expression he had, compensated by the fact he was extremely sweaty and pale. Something was definitely wrong.

"John, calm down" he said, placing his hand over the man's shoulder as he tried to talk in the middle of his despair.

"It's your wife... She..."

"WHAT HAPPENED TO TEAR?" Luke shook the servant by his shoulders. When it was about Tear he forgot all kindness.

"We found her unconscious in the garden, it seems she went into labor and fainted... She was transported to the hospital a minutute ago, I came looking for you as soon as I could..." The servant could not finish his sentence before Luke was already running towards the hospital. The Duke couldn't stand the thought of something being wrong with Tear, with HIS Tear. Ever since she got the Miasma disease he had sweared himself he would protect her, he would not allow nothing to happen to her ever again.

"Tell the King and Queen about this John! HURRY!" he screamed as the servant lost sight of his master in the distance.

"TEAR!!!!!!" Luke shouted when he opened the doors of the Hospital.

"Duke Fabre! This way... You wife's condition has worsened. Something has gone wrong she has lost all strenght in her, her blood pressure is extremely low and..."

"Where is she?" interrupted Luke. Looking straight into the doctor's eyes "Take me to her"

The doctor blinked slowly and indicated Luke to follow him, he was led to a hallway with white walls and some kind of window in one the sides. The doctor told him to look through it. Luke hesitated a bit and then began walking slowly, scared of what he may see. He faced the window and saw Tear lying on a bed with many machines connected to her. About three doctors and two nurses were around her, allowing Luke to see only her face, a face that spoke of pain.

"What went wrong?" he asked the man who had guided him to the hallway, without moving his eyes from the window and the face of his wife.

"We don't know for sure but..." the doctor was interrupted by the entrance of four well known figures...

"Luke! We came as soon as we could" said Guy, followed by Natalia and two newly arrived characters: Jade and Anise.

"What a coincidence we happened to arrive just today" exclaimed Jade, with his usual tone.

"How... How is she?" asked Natalia, more worried than the others, being aware of Tear's situation. Luke did not move his eyes from the window.

"Not very good... They don't know what is wrong with her..."

"She'll be fine Luke, after all we are talking about Tear here!" said Anise, trying to calm down the young man without any success at all.

"Excuse me" said a doctor, looking at the party "I'm afraid you will have to go to the waiting room, I only intended to bring Duke Fabre here for a little while"

They did not want to, but neither had will enough to resist, and so they moved as if with iron feet to the waiting room. There were three couches and two doors, one leading outside and one leading to the hallway and the operation room. They all sat down without saying anything. Any word could be inadequate in such situation.

They remained in silence for about two hours, looking at the door. Guy and Natalia held hands and the girl could not prevent the tears from falling through her cheeks, Luke was too focused in the door to even notice. Jade, the only one not facing the door, looked calm, he always did, however, as time passed his expression began to transform.

"I wished my parents were here and not on that stupid trip..." Luke whispered Natalia and Guy who were sitting next to him.

"I think that if they knew this was happening they would wish the same thing" answered the Queen.

"Yeah, I guess so..."

Time went by slowly, as when you are waiting for the arrival of New Year and it seems to never arrive. They felt stressed and concerned, they had not received any news for a good while. Well, at least, as Jade stated _No News is Good News_. They all feared the possibility of being told Tear was... No, there was no way she would... It was Tear right?.. She was strong right?.. She was just giving birth right?.. They couldn't calm down their nerves.

Suddenly, the door opened and a Doctor came in, his coat stained with blood. The group stood up withoutsaying a word, their looks said everything they needed to express. "Is she okay?" they screamed, "Is the baby alive?"...

"The situation is still delicate, but we managed to overcome the worst part. Tear Fon Fabre is currently stable, as long as she remains so for a couple hours more she will be out of danger, however we must not let our guards down... We still haven't been able to determine what went wrong. She just lost all strenght. Suddenly her system was down." The doctor spoke with a voice so cold it almost hurt to hear it.

"How's the baby?" asked Jade, the only able to speak at the moment.

"It's a girl... Her current situation is pretty delicate... If she's able to make it through the night she should be fine. I do not recommend you to have high hopes. There is very high probability that she dies."

Silence.

Silence.

A Scream.

Tears.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Luke held his head with both hands and fell on his knees "This can't be..."

"Luke, calm down! You don't want Tear to see you like this when she wakes up right?" Guy tried to clam his friend down, kneeling next to him, touching his shoulder. "Breathe a bit..." The Duke took a deep breath and stood up.

"Duke Fabre, you may enter your wife's room whenever you feel ready. The rest should get going, the hospital rules allow only one person to be with the patient when there is such a critical situation." The "rest" looked at the doctor with hatred "Excuse me but that is the hospital's policy and there should be no exceptions" He said no exceptions looking directly into the Guy's eyes and the King felt the urge to use his royal power and destroy the doctor, but he had told Luke to calm down and he had to do the same.

"Natalia let's go... Jade, Anise you are welcomed to stay at the palace." He turned his gaze at Luke "Let us know if anything happens ok?" Once again he placed his hand upon his best friend's shoulder. Luke touched his hand and nodded. The royal couple, Anise and Jade left the hospital, the queen still crying.

....................

Duke Fabre entered the room and saw his wife laying on a bed, still asleep. She looked extremely pale and there were still signs of tension in her face. The young man noticed some strains of hair in the middle of her face. Luke sat on a chair next to the bed and with his hand removed them. He whispered her name and began tracing the shape of her face with the back of his hand.

She was going to be ok, he felt it. It was Tear, after all. She was always strong and even a little scary. Not even the miasma disease in her had prevented her from fighting, she would not die so easily... Die? If Tear died he didn't knew what he would do. He would take care of the little girl he guessed, but if they both died? He shook his head, he had to remain positive. But if... He knew he would lose all desire to live and would probably end up killing himself. When Luke was about to plan his own death he heard a weak yet somehow strong voice.

"Luke?"

He had heard that same voice so many times and whenever she said his name he felt as the luckiest man on earth. How had an idiot like him end up with such an amazing women? He never stopped asking himself what had Tear seen in him.

"Tear..." he held her hands, which she had moved towards him "My wife, I thought you wouldn't wake up..."

"I won't die so easily Luke" she smiled a little but the sign of happiness didn't last long. Her eyes moved all around the room and immediately her husband realized the reason of her concern.

"It's a girl" he said and she smiled "But she's not here..."

"Why?" It hurt him so much to tell her, but she had to be ready for the worse to happen.

"Something went wrong, the doctors can't determine it but she's really weak... I'm afraid they told us she would probably die tonight..."

And then something inside Mystearica fon Fabre broke. Tears began emanating from her eyes quickly and abundantly, like waterfalls. She tried to talk but nothing she said made sense. Luke hugged her and cuddled with her a little bit. And so, hugging his crying love, Luke saw the sun rising through the window.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Love**

Luke spent the night next to Tear, comforting her as he could until she fell asleep. He was devastated, but he knew it has harder for Tear, knowing her, she was probably blaming herself for the situation. Luke was doing the same thing. Maybe he had done something wrong, he was the one that had to protect Tear and the baby... He had failed as a father before the child was born. He won nothing feeling that way, for the time being he had to care ofr his wife.

That was the longest night the replica had ever been through. He wanted his daughter to be healthy, he wanted to see her grow, to see her walk and talk for the first time. If she died he knew Tear would never be the same, he would never be the same either. He would have to close the room that was intended for the baby and bury the key. Then again he was burying himself in despair. He had to stop that.

He gazed upon Tear once more, with her pale blue eyes closed she didn't look so defiant. He would even dare say she looked helpless and tender, one could easily forget she was so strong. That was it, she was strong. If the baby had inherited that she would certainly make it...

He looked through the window and saw some kids playing at the plaza. Even though most would find it happy, the scene was certainly nostalgic for him. He wanted his baby to grow up and play with her friends just like those kids did. He had wanted this baby with all his heart, he needed to give a child what he never had... A normal childhood...

"Duke Fabre?" A nurse came into the room, with a smile on her face. Luke turned around and felt a light of hope in his heart. Why was she smiling?

"Yes?" He asked, opening his eyes as much as possible. He looked at every detail in the woman's expression, searching for clues that told him what she was going to say. She looked happy, sincerely happy.

"The baby made it, she is now stable. We are currently doing some tests, but as soon as we finish I will bring her to you. Congratulations, she's a beautiful little girl" Luke could nor fit all his happiness within his body. He wanted to jump, dance, to kiss Tear and tell her it was ok. But she was fast asleep and he wanted to wake her up holding the baby in his arms.

"Thank you so much!" He managed to say. The nurse nodded as she left the room. He dropped himself on the chair he had been occupying and looked at the kids in the plaza once more. His little girl would play the same way some day. He was so happy, so damn happy. He felt tempted again to wake up Tear, but making her wait more time awake would just make her suffer more. There was also a slight chance that... No! Everything was ok! Perfectly fine. He smiled again.

...............

The time he spend waiting for the baby to be brought felt even longer than the whole night. He wanted to badly to have his daughter in his arms, to look at her, to kiss her. He tried to fill time speculating how she would look like. She would probably have red hair like him, since that trait has shown dominant in the royal family for ages. He was not sure about the eyes. He wanted her to have Tear's eyes, they were so damn beautiful, so charming. When he looked at them he felt blessed that he had married such a wonderful woman. _I still don't know what she saw in me, but I'm glad she saw it..._

And then the door opened. Oh dammit it felt like an eternity. And the same nurse who gave him the best news he had received in his whole life came into the room, holding a little pink mass between her arms. She congratulated him once more as she handed him over his baby. She was so tiny and felt so delicate. He held her tightly but softly and looked at her with loving eyes. At his daughter, at their daughter, his and Tear's.

He had guessed just had red hair just like him, fiery red hair that spoke of strenght, and blue eyes like Tear's, beautiful eyes that seemed so deep. She was not smiling, nor she was sad. She had that face his wife had when she was reading. _It's almost as if I had designed her_, he giggled stupidly at the thought. The nurse smiled and left the room, glad that the family was finally together.

Luke walked towards his wife slowly, trying to keep the little creature calm and not to wake up the sleeping mother. He felt really unsure of every action he made. Being a father was not going to be easy, but he was going to enjoy it more than anything else. The warmth emanated by the baby filled his chest with a happiness he could almost not bear.

"Tear..." He softly whispered her name. She was still asleep. "Tear..." He repeated, a little louder than the last time. This time she opened her pale blue eyes slowly, they were still a little swollen for all the time she had been crying but still really pretty. "Look... It's our girl..."

She looked at the baby in Luke's arms. She smiled a smiled she never thought to show. It definately was their daughter. She was a little human being, a perfect mixture of both of them. She was definitely theirs. No one would doubt it. It seemed as if nothing was wrong with her and she was so cute... "Is that really our girl, Luke?"

"Of course, just look at her... Tear?" The young mother had began crying and her husband smiled at her as he handed her over the little creature. She held her against her chest and the baby began burying her head in Tear's chest.

"I think she's hungry, Tear..." Luke said and Tear looked at him in the eyes. Obviously she had no experience in such deed. She looked at the baby and began to remove her shirt, exposing her breast. She moved the baby's head towards her chest and instinctively she began feeding herself. It felt really funny.

Luke looked at the newborn and her mother. The scene was just too beautiful, so sweet. A mother and her child...

"How are we going to name her?" he asked the young mother "I like Susanne... Like my mother" he added.

"I was thinking of naming her... Yulia..."

"Yulia? Wouldn't it be a little bit weird I mean..." Tear's eyes were begging for acceptance "... Gah, I can't handle that look of yours my wife. After all she is your ancestor and... It's a pretty name"

After some minutes the baby stopped eating and Tear covered her breast. It still felt funny. Luke sat in the bed, next to Tear and hugged her.

"I'm so happy, Tear"

"I'm happy too, my love..."

"LUKE, TEAR!" A familiar voice called for them, as a youngster entered the room at full speed.

"Anise!" The couple exclaimed at unison.

"We are here too!" Said Guy as he came into the room followed by Natalia and Jade.

"Tear..." The Queen walked towards her friend and leaned next to her, whispering into her ear "I told you it would be ok..." Tear smiled and Natalia smiled back.

_She knows _Jade thought. "So Tear, will you let us see the baby?" The alluded one blushed and separated the baby from her chest, placing her over the bed. Little Yulia moved a little bit.

"We have named her... Yulia" Luke said as the eyes of his friends focused on the new born.

"She's so CUTE!" Exclaimed the former Fon Master Guardian kneeling next to the bed, close to the baby.

"My, what a serious face she has. She resembles Tear" Said Natalia.

"She looks a lot like Luke... I hope she has Tear's intelligence..."

"Guy!" Everyone laughed. And in the midst of that happiness Jade slipped his eyes into Tear's. The Dutchess' smile vanished for a second as she and the Necromancer shared the same thought. They both knew there was still a lot of things they had to test before they knew if the baby and her mother were really fine.

......................

Shortest Chapter... Hmmm... Well... Reviews please!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Concerns and Joy**

"I don't think we can hide this from Luke any longer" she said, directing a cold gaze to the Necromancer next to her. Tear was irritated. She hadn't slept well since Yulia was born and the effects the lack of sleep had caused in her were increased by the tension she felt as the Colonel analized the informaiton.

"I know" he replied, examinating the data on the screen in front of him, his eyes widening slowly as they reached the end of the document "...This is really amazing" he stated, when he completed memorizing all the information. Jade held his forehead with one hand, passing his fingers through his hair.

"What?" Tear asked, desperate for an answer and still no showing that concern clearly on her words "What's wrong with Yulia?" she held Jade's shoulders and shaked him. The Necromancer turned around and faced her, the melodist lowered her hands.

"It seems her Fon Slots are sealed. It is just like what Largo did to me with the Fon Slot Seal, but this is..." he moved his head from side to side, trying to find an appropiate word to describe the situation to Tear without causing her any more worries.

"What?" Tear needed an answer and her eyes stated to the Necromancer she did not really wanted him to be sensitive towards her, all the young mother needed in that moment was the truth, no matter how harsh it was.

"Impossible... She's just a week old. Who would put a Fon Slot Seal on a baby? She was probably born like this" he stopped, he had a sort of answer "She's indeed Luke's so...Maybe its because he's a replica... But how?" not many things amazed the Necromancer, but this time he had no idea what was wrong.

Tear gazed to the ceiling, trying to keep the tears in her eyes. Something was wrong with her baby after all. It didn't seem lethal but still... She closed her eyes and cleaned the traces of salty water from her cheeks with the back of her hand. Jade had returned his gaze at the screen, trying to find out if something on the data could be wrong and did not notice the crying young mother.

"That's how we are going to explain it to the rest I guess..."

"What?" Jade asked Tear, surprised at her cold voice and the shine in her eyes.

"We'll have to tell them of her Fon Slots, she won't be able to use artes and we'll have to justify that... So we'll say its because of Luke... But is it Jade?" once again there was weakness on her voice, Jade tried to show a little tenderness but was not able to determine whether he had succeded in doing so.

"It's a probability..."

..................

Apart from the fact her fon slots were sealed, Yulia was a perfectly normal baby. She cried, played, slept and dirtied her diapers all day. So Tear soon forgot that there was a chance something was seriously wrong with the little creature and began to enjoy the simple pleasure it gave her to be a mother. Every moment she spend with her daughter was precious to her. She wanted her to experience what she was never able to with her mother.

Luke, on the other side, became overprotective of both his wife and daughter due to the fact he was close to lose them both. He would make sure there was always someone with them when he was not around and tried to solve his duties as fast as he could so he could go to the manor as soon as possible. He wanted to give Tear the feeling of being part of a family and wanted Yulia to have the childhood he never had.

The baby was a few months old when Luke's parents came back fro their trip around Auldrant. They were both very excited about their grand daughter and were unable to hide it when they met her for the first time. Rather a nice scene when Yulia met her grandparents.

And so the Fabres where reunited. It seemed like everything would be perfectly fine from that day forwards. But soon conflict arose between Tear and her mother in law. They had always got along pretty well but they had found their relationship was going to be damaged for one big factor: Yulia's education.

"I just don't think a soldier is the most appropiate person to educate her in the manners of high society" Susanne had told Luke when he tried to interfere.

"Mother, Tear is a descendant of Yulia, she has been pretty well educated and in adittion she is one of the most formal and well mannered persons I have ever met" he replied "And she IS Yulia's mother"

"Luke, you wouldn't understand. A soldier is not fit to raise a baby girl and neither to be a proper maternal figure..."

"MOTHER! I wont allow you to speak in that way of my wife"

"Luke, that's enough! I don't want you to argue with your mother because of me" Sussane and Luke turned around and faced a pretty irritated Tear who somehow managed to mantain her usual composture.

"Tear... I-I..." Luke was not able to complete a sentence, he was embarassed by what his mother had said.

There was an unconfortable silence among the three of them and neither seemed brave enough to break it. Until she did.

"Susanne, if you have something to say, I would like to have it said directly to my face" The tension increased considerably and again it seemed as not one of them was going to ever talk again.

Sussane did not reply. She only closed her eyes and walked to the other side of the hallway, so did Tear but in the opossite direction, her hands tightly closed in fists. Luke, puzzled, remained in the middle. Would he be forced to pick a side?

................

"Luke, can I ask you something silly?" Tear asked, as she gently poked Yulia's cheek with her index finger, the baby giggling at the contact.

"What is it my wife?" Luke responded quickly, having noticed a strange melancholy on Tear's words.

"D-Do you think I'll be a good mother?" she blushed a little bit and her eyes seemed to shine more than usual. Luke did not expect the argument with his mother to cause this kind of reactions on the melodist. He sighted and stared directly into the young mother's eyes.

"No" he replied "I _know_ you will be an excellent mother"

Tear looked away and focused on the baby who had cought her finger between her tiny hands. Yulia was the cutest thing she had ever seen. Every movement she made increased her level of cuteness. Tear had never been able understand how women could love their children when they have just met them but, after having Yulia, she realized what it felt like. She felt the urge to protect and take care of the baby, and she knew her daughter would need special care. She would never be able to use artes.

Luke hugged her waist and pulled her towards himself as soon as Yulia let go off her finger. He gently pressed his lips against her cheek. Tear closed her eyes. She enjoyed every single time Luke kissed her as if it was the first time, it was as if he had casted a spell on her. He kissed her again but on the neck. Tear felt electricity going down her spine.

"You are lovely, my wife" he whispered into her ear. It was nice to know that, even after getting married and having their first child, he could still have that soothing effect on Tear. It was some sort of power he noticed only **he** had over her. The apparently cold and hard to bite Oracle Knight had a soft spot for his love demostrations. She shivered at the felt of his breath on her neck.

"Luke, I love you" she said as she moved to kiss him in the lips. Luke responded to the gesture but was forced to break the gesture by the sound of a crying infant. A horrid smell revealed the cause of Yulia's cry. They laughed.

........................

Almost a year had passed since Yulia had been born when the heir to the throne came to the world. Natalia gave birth to a healthy blonde baby boy who she and Guy decided to name Asch Ingobert, to honor two important people who had passed away. Settled on having Yulia and Asch as friends they introduced them to each other as soon as they could. Almost as soon as he was born and allowed out of the hospital the two infants met each other.

"Yulia, this is Asch" Natalia said, with the baby in arms. He looked a lot like Guy, with the same blonde hair as both of his parents but having inherited Natalia's greenish eyes.

"Say hello" Tear held Yulia's hand in the air to simulate a greeting. The group laughed, it was amazing that they could now enjoy such simple hapiness when five years ago they had to fight to save the world.

The little ones were left on a blanket and the two couples kneeled next to them expecting for some kind of cute scene. Yulia moved towards Asch and looked at him with her light blue eyes. She remained in the same position until the little boy directed his gaze upon hers. She smiled but Asch was too young to understand the meaning of the gesture and remained motionless. The girl got closer and touched Asch's cheek with her hand.

"How cute..." Tear whispered. Luke smiled. They were all starting to get used to this kind of comments from the young mother and no longer saw them as something to be amazed at, however they still managed to get them to smile proudly, knowing their friendship had let the Melodist out of her shell.

They remaied that way for a while, just enjoying the sight of their offspring. Jade, Anise and Mieu should arrive anytime soon to meet the newborn prince. And so everything seemed to be going just perfect, ignoring of course the tension between Tear and Susanne which Luke and his father (1) managed to ignore.

But still, Tear had one big fear, one that she had managed to bury underneath everyday's joy but that still made its way into her mind every now and then. There was something wrong with Yulia. Something that Jade had said was impossible but yet had happened.

However, in that moment, it was all indeed perfectly fine. And it would continue like that... For a while at least.

.............................

**Notes:**

1) Did they EVER say Duke Fabre's name?


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Lost in the Snow or Acknowledging how different one is**

The little red headed walked through the forest with eyes that said she was more than lost. She could not feel her hands or feet but she had the feeling that she had to keep on moving or death would claim her. The sounds of the forest made her nervous and contributed to her "being completely lost" state. Every single tree looked exactly the same and every step she took sank her more and more on the white ocean of snow. She was sank to the knees. She could barely move, she could not see her face but she knew she was really pale. She felt the weight of her sword hanging from her belt, she should have picked a lighter one.

She could not give up, she had gotten herself in this problem and she HAD to get out of it by herself. She was strong, she could make it. One more step, one more... Every single move was killing her, pain coming out from every pore in her body. She wanted to be a warrior but she was a little girl after all, and when she hit her arm with a branch and a deep cut began to bleed , she fell to the floor and began to cry, calling for her mother and father to come rescue her.

...........................

"Yulia?!" she cried with all her strength"YULIA!!" there was no answer. Her eight-year-old daughter was not in the manor, that was for sure. She roamed every room, she called for her from every corner, and there was no answer. There was no damn answer. The mother was about to cry. Her husband had left to the palace a while ago and somehow between the hour he had left and when she left the library all servants had lost sight of Yulia and she was now lost.

"Tear?" she heard that familiar voice calling for her and her eyes widened. Perhaps Luke knew where the little red-headed was.

"Luke I can't find Yulia, have you seen her?" there was concern in the mother's words and Luke held both of her hands trying to ease her pain even if he knew only the sight of their daughter would accomplish that. He wanted to lie but truth came out on its own.

"I haven't, not since I left" Tear's eyes widened.

"She's not in the manor..." she said and both of them ran towards the exit. The Heroes of Auldrant were not going to allow their daughter to be harmed. They both knew, without saying it, that they were headed towards the castle.

...........................

Now she had ran out of tears she managed to get a hold of herself and stand up once again, struggling with the snow. She took a few more steps before falling to the ground again. She hugged herself, trying to keep warm. Then a horrid noise came to her ears. A howl. A deep, scary howl. She increased the strength of her embrace and realized she still had water left in her eyes.

............................

"Yulia-chan is missing?" Natalia exclaimed as soon as her friends told her about the situation.

"Its all my fault, I should have been with her..." Tear's eyes shone with sadness.

"Tear..." Luke touched her shoulder and she turned to face him. The green eyed smiled to her, that smile she knew meant that it was not her fault.

A small blonde figure walked towards the angsty brunette and pulled her dress. He looked really nervous and all the adults directed their gazes towards the kid. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something but he closed it again, having second thoughts on whether he should or shouldn't tell them that. He had no option however, taken into account what happened then.

"Asch knows where Yu-chin is" the voice was really high pitched and childish. No wonder if one looked at the small version of Natalia that had just appeared.

"Meryl!" the boy called, letting go off Tear's dress and looking straight at his one-year younger sister. He then looked at the adults and felt he was caught by the shoulders and that the person that had done that shook him violently.

"Asch, where is she?!" asked the king to his son, feeling a little bit embarassed at the attitude of his first born.

"Please Asch..." said Tear, having crawled next to the boy. The little blond one looked straight into her eyes, more like eye since one of them was as always covered by her bangs. He got lost in the shine it gave away. It was such a beautiful blue. He had to admit, he had a sort of crush in the women.

"I-I told her that..."

"_Hey Yulia" he called, the red headed turned around to face her blond friend "You won't guess what I did yesterday. My father took me to the forest closeby and he gave me a sword lesson with actual monsters. It was awesome!"_ _he could not hide the excitement within him, not that he was trying to either. _

"_That's great Asch..." she lowered her face and the boy could not help but to ask._

"_Is something wrong?" _

"_Nah... Don't worry about it" she said. Asch was not convinced. He clinged to her arm pulled her down gently about five times before she told him. "Okay, okay I'll tell you, just stop that..." Asch stopped his clinging and smiled in self satisfaction "It's just that my dad would never take me to do something like that"_

"_Wha-Why?" he sorta knew the answer, but still had to ask._

"_Its just that he says monster are too much for me since... Well you know I can't use artes" she looked down._

"_But you are awesome in sword play, way better than me"_

"_Yeah but...hmm..." Yulia looked towards the sky and Asch thought it would be better to end that conversation._

"So I think she went to fight some monsters in the forest" he looked to one side, trying to hide his shame. He shouldn't have told her that. He shouldn't have pressed her for an answer.

"We'll talk about this later. Guys let's go" said Natalia, as she began running towards the exit. "Asch, you come too, Yulia is in this because of you" the kid nodded.

They weren't your average royal family. They were warriors, they were called heroes. They only wore formal clothing during audiences and meetings, the rest of the time, they wore clothing that was ready to fight. They would not ask soldiers to go rescue Yulia, they would go by themselves. A weird royal family for sure they were.

...........................................

She heard them calling for her but was unable to answer, the ligers were too close for her to make a movement without revealing her position. She thought there were like ten of them, a complete pack. She hugged herself trying to reduce the possibilities of being noticed. The voices became louder and soon she felt them close enough for her to raise her head without being instantly. There they were. Her family and friends.

Guy stroke one of the ligers with a Crescent Strike, killing it instantly. Luke attacked another one with a Demon Fang and also caused its death. Meanwhile Tear put a couple to sleep with a fonic hymn as Natalia pierced through a monster with an arrow. Yulia looked at them and felt weak. She would never be able to do attacks as those, to fight how they fought, she was useless.

Lost in self pity the red headed did not notice one of the ligers had caught glimpse of her and was quickly moving towards her. She took her sword between her hands and assumed a fighting stance, using all of her remaining strength. However, when the monster was about to bite her a blue light threw it to one side. She turned to see Asch had just beaten the thing with a Demon Fang.

Yulia stabbed the ground with her sword and leaned on it, cursing her weakness. If only she could use artes her father would teach her to fight in that awesome way. She could sing the seven fonic hymns but for her they were only songs. Even Asch, a year younger than her, was stronger.

"Yulia, are you okay?" asked Tear, running towards her daughter as soon as all the ligers were defeated. The girl raised her head and looked into her mother's light blue eyes. She had the same color, but she knew she lacked that intensity, that power, that grace. She was just a weakling. A damn weakling.

"Yeah, I'm okay" she mumbled, and felt her mother catching her in a tight embrace.

"Don't ever do something this stupid!" the melodist told her daughter as the father of the creature leaned next to them.

"Yulia, you scared the hell out of us. You know this things are too dangerous for you" she didn't respond. She was not going to cry. It had been enough to be saved by Asch, that stupid little prince, she was not going to appear even weaker.

"I'm sorry Yulia, I never thought it be so much trouble for you to come here... I-I'm sorry I didn't take into consideration your limitations" said Asch.

Her limitations. She had been fed up with that speech ever since she was born. She could not use artes. She couldn't. She would never be able to.

........................................

"Luke, I'm worried about Yulia, rushing into such dangerous situations..." Tear told her husband, as they cuddled in their bed.

"Yeah, I know. That kid is certainly nuts. Maybe we should be more overprotective, you know, with her condition and all it may be better for her to stop sword training..."

"I don't like the idea of taking away sword training, it may come in handy for her to have that knowledge taken into consideration she cannot use artes"

"Hmm... Then we'll assign her a bodyguard or something, you have Oracle Knight things to attend and I have things to handle at the castle and with our lands so we can't be around all the time. Or maybe we can have her at the palace with Asch and Meryl whenever we leave, Guy and Natalia have like twenty nannies for those two"

"I don't think she'll like that. I think a guardian would be more like it. Just like Guy was to you, remember?" Tear realease herself from Luke's embrace and stood up.

"Who do you have in mind?" asked the Duke with a smile upon his lips, having an idea about who his wife was considering.

"I think I'll call Anise, I hear she's been doing nothing since she left the order and you know how well she gets along with Yulia"

"Yeah, she's probably the only one that con get along with her" said Luke, giggling until he felt Tear's light blue eyes piercing through his head.


End file.
